Friday 13^th September 2024

The A10 to Bordeaux was not too busy and while the morning was only 10C, the sky was blue and behind glass it was a gorgeous day. Just south of Bayonne, we stopped at a beautiful seaside town of Saint Jean de Luz. A bit like Sorrento and very up market shops. Lunch was a ham and cheese roll and chips. Except here it is jamon et fromage baguette avec frittes and the best baguette ever; a perfect amount of smoky ham and slices of Emmental and for once, proper, crisp and hot frittes.

This fortified us for the short drive into Donostia San Sebastian. We were to meet Ely, our host for the BnB and Lady P parked the car in a red zone while Flashy was dispatched to wait at the door of number 6 for someone he’d never met, to say “Hola, eres Ely?”

Well, on walking to the apartment block he spied a twenty something in a very short leopard print skirt hurrying towards him. Attractive, he thinks. A hooker maybe? She glides past, hopefully not thinking who’s that dirty old man! She stops at Lady P’s car and asks “Eres Penny?” Sure enough, she’s Ely the host. Ah well, that was close.

We settle into a very upmarket room and ensuite in her apartment in a very flash neighbourhood, then off for a walk and a few pintxos.

When we were in Saint Jean de Luz, we noticed the signage was in French (of course) but also in a strange language with lots of t’s, x’s and z’s. Then Flashy spots the Basque flag. Sure enough we are in or close to, the Basque – they’d say country – the Spanish would say the autonomous community of Spain. 

There's plenty of Basque about Donostia San Sebastian. Flags and signs everywhere. Tapas are called pintxos and we found a great restaurant where for €30, we had three drinks and five pintxos. 

Prior to this we experienced a phenomenon. At a little restaurant in the late afternoon sunshine, in a plaza that was once a bullring, a waiter, bringing us two gin and tonics, arrived with a half bottle of gin, two small bottles of tonic and two 500 ml giant wine glasses with lemon and ice.

He then began to fill the glasses with gin from the bottle. No nip measure. He poured 100ml of gin into the glasses (that’s almost a quadruple) then gave it a dash of tonic.

Flashy is having nightmares. How will he get Lady P upright, let alone home after this. This was before we had pintxos and she a bucket of sangria.

Then we needed a GnT back at the apartment because it was only 9.00pm. Some of us slept well.

Keep pouring Carlos!